


Puppy Love

by benjji2795



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Adopting a dog, Dex is a Giant Softie, Especially with dogs, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 12:17:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7573750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benjji2795/pseuds/benjji2795
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was driving home in the middle of an intense rainstorm (<em>when is he not driving home in the rain?</em> Dex thinks.  <em>It’s </em>Seattle<em>.  It’s always raining</em>), when a flash of red catches his eye about two hundred feet in front of him.  Slowing down, Dex tries to get a better look at the red object and–oh <em>God</em>, that’s a puppy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Puppy Love

**Author's Note:**

> This was a tumblr one sentence prompt; originally it was _"Don't give me that look; you're the one that bought it."_ , which I changed to _"Don't give me that look; you're the one that brought him home."_

Dex almost almost didn’t see it.

 

He was driving home in the middle of an intense rainstorm ( _when is he not driving home in the rain?_ Dex thinks.   _It’s_ Seattle _.  It’s always raining_ ), when a flash of red catches his eye about two hundred feet in front of him.  Slowing down, Dex tries to get a better look at the red object and–oh _God_ , that’s a puppy.

 

Dex hits the brakes, pulling off onto the side of the road a few yards ahead of where the puppy is slowly hobbling down the sidewalk.  Quickly, he brushes a stack of paper off the front seat–he’ll deal with the mess later–and then steps out into the rain.

 

The puppy was probably only a few months old.  Its fur was a red color strikingly similar to the color of Dex’s hair.  At least, that’s what it looks like to Dex; the poor little thing’s fur is matted with dirt.

 

Dex walks over to the puppy slowly, holding out his hand for the puppy to sniff.  “Hey there–”

 

The puppy looks up at the sound of his voice and snarls, backing away a few steps from Dex, and Dex mirrors it, wondering if helping it is worth losing a finger.  Interestingly, the puppy doesn’t run away from him.  Instead it–actually, it looks to be a he–stands his ground, baring his teeth and growling lowly.

 

Dex stares into his eyes, wondering why this puppy doesn’t want his help.  He’s clearly hurt–there a few cuts visible through his fur, and he looks thin, shivering slightly with the chill of the rain.  He needs help, and yet he doesn’t seem to want it…

 

And then it hits Dex.  That’s the kind of shit he tries to pull all the time.  “I can take care of myself,” he always says.  This puppy is clearly trying to say, _I know I’m hurt, but I’m fine; I don’t need your help_.

 

Dex isn’t going to let him do that.  He’ll die otherwise.

 

“You idiot,” Dex mutters, probably because that’s exactly what Nursey would say to him in this situation.

 

The puppy stops growling, cocking his head to the side in curiosity instead.

 

“You idiot,” Dex repeats, taking a small step forward.  “You’re not fine.”

 

The puppy lowers his head and whimpers.

 

Dex nods his head in agreement.  “Yeah, exactly.  C’mon, get over here.  I’m gonna help you, whether you think you need my help or not.”

 

He shakes himself, gingerly taking a few steps toward Dex.

 

“That’s right, c’mon,” Dex encourages.

 

When the puppy is in range to be picked up, Dex quickly does so, before the puppy can possibly change his mind.  Not that he probably needed to worry about that–the puppy immediately nuzzles into his neck.

 

It’s just as Dex pulls into the Petsmart parking lot that he realizes–Nursey probably isn’t going to like this very much.

 

* * *

“Nursey?” Dex calls cautiously as he walks into the house.  His clothes are still dripping wet, and he holds the shivering puppy close to his chest, along with the bag of supplies he got at the pet store.  He’s not entirely sure how he’s going to explain this.

 

Nursey slides around the corner, his feet nearly coming out from underneath him because he’s wearing socks on their hardwood floors (which Dex has repeatedly told him not to do).

 

“Thank God you’re okay!” Nursey exclaims, squeezing Dex tightly.  “I thought something bad had happened to you!”

 

“I was just a little late.  There’s no reason to–”

 

“ _A little late_?  Dex, you were an hour and a half late!” Nursey says sternly.

 

“Oh.  Well.  I'm _really_ sorry but-uh–I might have um–we might have a puppy?” Dex replies sheepishly.

 

Nursey blinks, staring at Dex blankly.  “What?”

 

“Yeah, uh,” Dex pauses, opening his coat to show Nursey.  He’d put the puppy in there to try and keep him warm.  “I found him on the side of the road on my way home.”

 

Nursey shakes his head.  “Dex.  Oh Dex, we really can’t keep him.”

 

“We don’t have to keep him!” Dex argues.  “He just needs someone to nurse him back to health.”

 

“The shelter can do that,” Nursey says dismissively.

 

Dex’s eyes go wide.  “We can’t take him to a shelter!  What if no one wants him and they have to put him down?  We– _I’m_ not going to let that happen to him!”

 

“Dex–”

 

“I couldn’t leave him there,” Dex interrupts.  “When I tried to help him, he didn’t want to let me at first.  He looked at me like he could take care of himself and–fuck, he acted just like I would!  And look at his fur, it’s the same color as my hair!  He’s _me_!  This is our dog!  I was _supposed_ to find him!  No one else was going to be able to help him except for me!”

 

Nursey looks at the dog, and then up at him.  They lock eyes, and Nursey’s gaze softens, and Dex knows he’s won.

 

“Fine.  I’m not saying we can keep him, but he can say until he’s better.  That’s  _it_.”

 

“Did you hear that?” Dex asks the puppy, cooing at him the same way he might talk to a baby.  “Nursey is gonna let you stay.  Isn’t that great?”

 

Nursey’s gaze is impossibly fond when Dex looks up, and he knows there’s a good chance that Nursey probably isn’t going to make him give the puppy away.

 

“Here, I’ll take him,” Nursey says softly.  “You need to go get changed so you’re not shivering and dripping all over the foyer.”

 

The puppy snarls again when Dex tries to hand him over to Nursey.  Dex looks up sheepishly at Nursey while the puppy glares and growls at him.  “I guess he’s coming with me?”

 

“Okay,” Nursey answers, shaking his head.  “You know, you might be onto something with him being you.  I seem to remember you didn’t like me at first sight either.”

 

“Well, then, if he _is_ anything like me, he’ll learn to tolerate you eventually,” Dex chuckles, quickly pecking Nursey on the cheek.

 

Nursey rolls his eyes, even though he’s smiling.  “ _Go_.  Get changed.”

* * *

In retrospect, naming the puppy Dexter was probably a terrible idea if they were going to have to give him away (which Nursey is still insisting they’re going to do), because that ties him to Dex even further, and Dex is so attached he couldn’t bear to let go of him.

 

Nursey, on the other hand, might be a little too eager to get Dexter into someone else’s home, probably because he and Dexter aren’t getting along.  Like at all.  And Nursey probably isn’t pleased about having to share Dex’s attention with him.

 

They would literally and figuratively bark at each other, going back and forth, bickering ceaselessly, and Dex is wondering if this is really what he and Nursey used to be like.  If so, he should, like send an apology card to the Samwell guys, because this is getting really fucking annoying.

 

Dex leaves the house for an hour to get groceries.  He doesn’t really like leaving Nursey alone with Dexter if he doesn’t have to, given how much they dislike each other, but Nursey was currently at his desk, scribbling furiously, and Dex knows better than to ask him to come along and interrupt him when he’s on a roll.

 

When Dex walks into the house, what little of the living room he can see of the living room from the foyer looks like a disaster area.

 

Dex walks out to find two out of the three couch cushions shredded, the foam that was once inside them strewn all over the room.

 

“Nursey!  Get out here!” Dex yells.  He’s irritated; how could Nursey have not heard Dexter making this mess?

 

Nursey comes out into the living room, surveying the mess, while Dex blinks at him, unimpressed.

 

“Don’t give me that look,” Nursey says.  “You’re the one that brought him home.”

 

“He’s _our_ dog,” Dex responds sharply.  “When he’s in this house, he’s as much your responsibility as he is mine.  And that includes paying attention to him when I’m not home!”

 

Nursey laughs.  “You think it would’ve made a difference if I had noticed this?  He would’ve just looked at me and kept doing it.”

 

“No he wouldn’t–”

 

“I think you underestimate just how much he doesn’t like me.”

 

“Okay, that’s it,” Dex says, throwing up his hands.  “We are all going to go into the bedroom and we are going to stay there until you two figure out how to deal with each other.”

 

“Deeeeexxxxxx,” Nursey whines as Dexter barks.

 

“I’m serious.   _March.  Now_ ,” Dex says, pointing toward the bedroom.

 

Both Dexter and Nursey shuffle that way.  Dex walks in after them, pulling the door closed.

 

“Now.  Dexter,” Dex says, kneeling in front of the dog.  “I know you’re just generally distrusting of people, but I promise you that Nursey is a good guy.”

 

Dexter barks in protest.

 

“Hush,” Dex quips.  “He’d be perfectly happy petting you and being nice to you if you would stop nipping at him.”

 

“And Nursey.  You have to be nice to Dexter, no matter how mean he’s being to you.  I’ve told you that he’s just like me, so just treat him the way you would treat me when I’m being hostile–”

 

“ _Dex_ , that’s what I have been doing.”

 

“You’re reacting the way you used to, before we started dating.  You gotta do what you do now.”

 

Nursey huffs.  “Fine.”

 

“Okay,” Dex smiles.  “Now give him a little scratch behind his ears.”

 

Nursey reaches out to pet Dexter, and Dexter snaps his jaw.

 

“Dexter,” Dex says sternly.  “Do you want a treat or not?”

 

Dexter whimpers.

 

“Then let him pet you.”

 

Dexter lets out a huff of air, then lowers his head for Nursey to pet.  Nursey tentatively reaches out and scratches behind his ears.  There’s a moment where both tense up, waiting for the other to snap at them.  But then, the more insistently Nursey pets Dexter, the more Dexter relaxes, and the more Nursey relaxes too.

 

“I think you guys are going to get along just fine now,” Dex says, nodding his head in satisfaction.

 

And they do–mostly.  Hey, he and Nursey still snap at each other sometimes too.  It wasn’t going to be perfect.  But like him and Nursey, they’ll figure it out and be just fine.


End file.
